Baldwin ? Baker University football coach John Frangoulis announced his resignation Monday.

Frangoulis — who has been Baker’s head coach for eight years after serving for three seasons as the Wildcats’ defensive coordinator — met with his players Monday afternoon and announced that he was stepping down.

“I personally got a feeling what was going to happen, because of small talk around town, listening to parents and stuff, so it wasn’t the biggest shock,” said sophomore Tyler Inzer of Monday’s “short, emotional meeting.”

“Still it’s a pretty big shock when you actually hear him say it,” said Inzer, who hails from Baldwin. “For me personally, he was the coach that I was recruited to play for. I definitely enjoyed playing for him.”

Frangoulis, who compiled a record of 45-39, led Baker to a top half of the conference finish in each of his first six seasons — including appearances in the Wheat Bowl in 1996 and the KWTO Bowl in 2001.

But Baker’s record slipped to 3-8 last year and 4-6 this season.

Inzer said if the Wildcats would have had a better season, Frangoulis might have stayed. But he didn’t think that the team played horribly for Frangoulis this season.

“At times we really showed our potential and hung in there for a lot of games,” Inzer said. “It’s hard to say what a winning season would have done. But some players kind of had hypothesis that he might retire if we didn’t come out with fists flying.

“Maybe it just does come down to the record, more than sportsmanship or the improvement we showed, which shows how good a team is or reflects a coach’s ability.”

Frangoulis earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Southeast Missouri State University and a master’s degree in physical education from Northwest Missouri State University. He began his football career, coaching three years of high school ball in the 1970s before coaching at NMSU, Dodge City Community College, the University of Missouri, the University of California-Santa Barbara and Independence Community College.

Baker athletic director Dan Harris said the search for a new coach would begin immediately.

BU President Daniel Lambert issued a statement Monday praising Frangoulis’ accomplishments at the Baldwin campus.

“Coach Frangoulis has made a lasting contribution to the University’s program, on and off the playing field,” Lambert said. “He is a valued colleague who genuinely cares for his players and makes their welfare his highest priority.”

Inzer said he would continue to play college football in his hometown next year and that whomever inherited the Wildcats would get a hungry team.

“The players are very close. Whoever gets the job is going to get a group of hard working players that are willing to prove that they can play for him,” Inzer said.